FOXBusiness reported that US automakers plan to use some of the money from the Congressional bailout to have the work done outside the US. In other words, a US taxpayer may see his or her tax dollars go to fund work in another country that he or she was doing.

It's arguably not in someone's best interest to pay taxes to see their job shipped elsewhere. But I want to point out that the automakers' execs are at least being honest about the reasons for the offshoring – they want to cut costs, and the work can be done cheaper elsewhere. I wish their counterparts in the software industry would be this honest. Perhaps then we could have a meaningful conversation of what software engineering salaries should be, and who should be doing the work.

I'd propose that another bill be introduced that allows anyone who is working on something that has been earmarked for offshoring to be able to bid competitively for the work. Arguably, this would cause some autoworkers' salaries to fall. They'd most likely lose some union benefits, at least. But it's better to earn some money than no money.